‘And How Much Do You Owe? Take Your Bill, Sit Down Quickly, and Write’ (Luke 16:5-6)
The parable found in Luke 16:1-8a has very often puzzled Christian commentators. The history of its interpretation shows that only a few fathers accepted the challenge to interpret it (mostly allegorically). Today we are all the more aware of the benefit of understanding the socio-economic backdrop...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2012
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| In: |
Tyndale bulletin
Year: 2012, Volume: 63, Issue: 2, Pages: 199-216 |
| Further subjects: | B
Rabbinic
B luke B Synoptic Gospels B socioeconomics B Shame / Honour B Parable B shrewd steward B Gospels B Papyri B New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The parable found in Luke 16:1-8a has very often puzzled Christian commentators. The history of its interpretation shows that only a few fathers accepted the challenge to interpret it (mostly allegorically). Today we are all the more aware of the benefit of understanding the socio-economic backdrop of such an unsettling story. This essay is an attempt to shed light on the meaning of the parable in the context of debt contracts and rates of interest in first-century Palestine. We shall start by a short description of the pyramidal social structure, the relational function of honour/shame values, and debt reduction dynamics in first-century Roman Palestine. The second part of this article will review some biblical, rabbinical and non-literary papyri sources on the topic of loans and debts in order to shed light on the practice of lending/borrowing money and goods, as well as some practical aspects referred to in the parable of the shrewd steward, such as the possible contractors, the rates of interest, the steward’s share, and the documents used in the context of ancient loans. |
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| ISSN: | 0082-7118 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Tyndale bulletin
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.53751/001c.29346 |
